Best PlacesSouth End, Little Rock, AR Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around South End, Little Rock, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Several measures below read low, and the ranked lists name which ones. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
South End, Little Rock ranks 5,884th of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and health outcomes rank lowest.
The best neighborhoods in South End, Little Rock
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
South End, Little Rock's strengths and weaknesses
Where South End, Little Rock ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 97% of neighborhoods
- Short commute15.8 minutes each way, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- Cheap childcare$671 a month, better than 96% of neighborhoods
- State fiscal healthBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cell coverageBetter than 88% of neighborhoods
Where South End, Little Rock ranks low
- Health outlookBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Low vacancyBetter than only 1% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than only 2% of neighborhoods
- Big-city accessBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 3% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in South End, Little Rock
A household needs to earn about $30,000 a year to comfortably buy the median South End, Little Rock home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That is below the area's own median income of $40,772, so a typical household can afford the median home outright.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses South End, Little Rock's effective rate of 0.41%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 3 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in South End, Little Rock
South End, Little Rock runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for South End, Little Rock.
Who works in South End, Little Rock, and how
Work in South End, Little Rock centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and the job base is shrinking.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 86%
- Work from home 7%
- Transit, walk, or bike 7%
Life in South End, Little Rock
The map and measures below break down dining, culture, and green space by neighborhood across South End, Little Rock.
What the weather is like in South End, Little Rock, month by month
South End, Little Rock sees roughly 74 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 93 degrees. January highs sit near 53, with lows near 33. The comfortable stretch runs March through May and October.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 53° | 42° | 33° |
| April | 75° | 63° | 53° |
| July | 93° | 83° | 74° |
| October | 77° | 65° | 55° |
Flying in and out of South End, Little Rock
The nearest airport, Bill and Hillary Clinton Ntl/Adams Field, is about 4 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Memphis International, about 133 miles away.
The best schools in and around South End, Little Rock
Schools across South End, Little Rock average a D, better than 8% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- College Station Elem. SchoolF · 7% proficient
- Washington Elementary SchoolF · 6% proficient
Top middle schools
- Fuller Middle SchoolD− · 19% proficient
- Dunbar Magnet Middle SchoolF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- Central High SchoolC+ · 36% proficient
- Wilbur D. Mills High SchoolF · 10% proficient
- Ark Consolidated High SchoolF · 7% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every South End, Little Rock school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
South End, Little Rock measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare South End, Little Rock against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in South End, Little Rock
Is South End, Little Rock a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, South End, Little Rock ranks 5,884th of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, short commutes, and affordable childcare, and lowest on health outcomes and empty homes. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is South End, Little Rock expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $119,287. The overall cost of living runs about 19% below the national average. Set against a $40,772 median income, cost of living beats 13% of neighborhoods.
Is South End, Little Rock safe?
South End, Little Rock is safer than 2% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $1,752 per resident a year.
Compare South End, Little Rock with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to South End, Little Rock. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in South End, Little Rock represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
South End, Little Rock detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for South End, Little Rock: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in South End, Little Rock: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of South End, Little Rock: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in South End, Little Rock: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
South End, Little Rock detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.